The avian flu outbreak that has affected more than 44 million birds in around 15 states has triggered fast-food restaurant Whataburger to alter its breakfast hours because of the nationwide egg shortage.

The chain restaurant said sourcing eggs amid the H5 flu outbreak
has become an issue too pressing to ignore.

"While our supply team continues to work diligently to source
more eggs, we feel a limited time period to serve our tasty
breakfast dishes is a better alternative to stop serving them
altogether," Whataburger wrote in a news release.

Iowa, the leading egg producing state in the US, has been hit
particularly hard, losing 29 million chickens, turkeys, and ducks
amid nearly 70 outbreaks, according to the Des Moines Register.

Minnesota, the top turkey producer in the US, has seen an
estimated 8.3 million birds -- mostly turkeys -- affected.

About 20 percent of chicken exports have been halted "based
on decisions made by countries either to ban all poultry exports
from the U.S. or exports from specific states that have been
impacted by all this," Vilsack told NPR.

"But on the egg side, you're liable to see over time
increased costs for a dozen eggs, and increased costs for goods
that basically use liquid eggs in the development or processing
of foods."

According to the Des Moines Register, John Glisson, head
researcher for the US Poultry & Egg Association, said a team
of epidemiologists is attempting to analyze as many infected
flocks as possible to determine how they were affected.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that the
current bird flu in the US has not been detected in humans and
remains a low threat to the public.

"There's no health issue involved here — there's no capacity
and no risk of transmission from birds to humans. The chickens
that are impacted are essentially killed; the eggs that were laid
by the chickens are being destroyed," Vilsack told NPR.